Fans flock to Washington tornado relief Facebook page

Monday

Nov 18, 2013 at 7:12 PM

Leslie Renken Journal Star arts reporter @leslierenken

WASHINGTON — About an hour after the EF-4 tornado touched down Sunday in central Illinois, the Facebook page Washington IL Tornado Recovery was online. Within 10 minutes it had 100 "likes," and by 3 p.m. Monday that number had grown to 157,000.

The page is filled with photos of the tornado's aftermath and useful information for those affected — where to go for a hot meal or a shower, who to contact if you are looking for a pet. There's also some good information for those wanting to help.

"PLEASE GIVE SMART: Your generosity is greatly appreciated but please give wisely... Used clothing and blankets for example can hamper relief efforts as they are difficult to store and sort," says one post says.

"I understand that everybody wants to help, but too much help can be a very bad thing," said Paul Hood, of Rochester, N.Y., the public information officer for Heroes Memorial Foundation, the group that created the Facebook page. Hood knows about such things — as a former paramedic, he's been involved in several major rescue efforts including the bombing of the World Trade Center and Hurricane Katrina.

Hood is one of the people moderating the page, which is being flooded with posts.

"A lot of people want to know 'what can we send, what do they need?' We just can't answer these fast enough," he said.

The Washington IL Tornado Recovery page is an offshoot of the primary mission of Heroes Memorial Foundation, a not-for-profit out of Okeechobee, Fla., which was started early this year by a group first-responders from around the U.S.

"We were created to honor fire, EMS, police and military killed in the line of duty," said Hood. The Facebook pages for fallen heroes gives people who want to help a way to respond — Heroes Memorial Foundation does fund raising to help those left behind.

The organization recently began branching out to help first responders during natural disasters. They launched a Facebook page for relief efforts in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan, and they also created a page for Wayne, Nebraska, after an F-4 tornado touched down there Oct. 4.

While many people will appreciate Washington IL Tornado Recovery for the useful information it provides, the site is also staying true to it's original goal of helping law enforcement.

"For this event we do have a fundraiser going. All the funds are earmarked for firefighters, law enforcement and military who have lost their homes in the event," said Hood. "Whatever we get, we're going to divide among them." Shortly before noon on Monday, the group had received six requests for help through the website. Hood said.

Though fund raising was the primary goal of Heroes Memorial Foundation when they were created, Hood said, right now, it's secondary.

"I'm worried about the 15,000 people who are displaced and helping the first responders get things taken care of."

Leslie Renken can be reached at 686-3250 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter, @LeslieRenken, and subscribe to her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.